“At the end we did not do enough,” he said. “To be honest, if we can’t score a goal in 90 minutes against Korea then we don’t deserve to go through. We got what we deserved. We were not unlucky. It is not down to bad luck.”

They may not be used to it, but there is no question the members of the German football team know how to lose. At the Kazan Arena after they were evicted from the tournament at the earliest point in their history, the tone was dignified and honest. Kroos, stopping in the mixed zone to face the media when many of his contemporaries would have put their heads down and dashed for the exit, voiced what many believed: with Germany requiring victory against what was perceived to be the weakest team in the group to advance, nobody could believe what they had just seen.

“I don’t know if this is the darkest [day] for German football but it is definitely a very black one,” he said. “I don’t think any of us expected this at all - I don’t think anyone did. Clearly we expected this to be a long tournament for us, we expected to be here for a lot longer. But what I can and will say is that after three games we weren’t able to play our best at any stage of it in any of them, really.”

Kroos continued: “At no stage in the whole tournament did I really feel like it was a final for us. At the end we had to go for the goal and then they scored. And at the end we knew Sweden were in front so we had to risk even more. We had chances but didn’t take any of them and that sums up the whole tournament for us really.”

“It is historic,” Low said of the defeat. “I am sure this will create some public uproar in Germany."

He was right there. Chancellor Angela Merkel, a long time supporter of the team, summed up the national mood after the defeat. “This evening we are all very said,” she said.

The headlines the morning after were far more dramatic. Bild described the side’s performance in Russia as: “The biggest disgrace in German World Cup history. The 0-2 loss is the embarrassing end to a catastrophic group phase.”

Die Weltnewspaper dismissed the team’s display as “disgraceful”. “Tame, lacking in ideas and passion – the team deservedly lost against South Korea,” it said.

And Low did not disagree, not seeking any excuse beyond the team’s incompetence. The questions though will be asked of him, not least in his squad selection. It might have helped had he been able to call on a player who has the one thing this German side evidently lacked: pace. But Leroy Sane was left back in Manchester. Working out how to utilise him properly will be among the many items cluttering the coach’s in tray.

A tearful Thomas Muller applauds the German fansCredit:
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That is if he stays in control. After admitting that he bore full responsibility for the failure, he was asked if he would thus be resigning. It was too early was his pointed conclusion.

“It is too early for me to answer that question,” he said. “We need a couple of hours to see things clearly. The disappointment is deep inside me.”